Free Range Humans : You Can Do Better! (Backpacking edition)

You can do better

Waking with the High Sierra Sun, in the Emigrant Wilderness, my eyelids pop open. Ah, tranquility. Yearning for my creature comfort cup o’ joe, I un-zip my tent.

Bzzzz…mosquitoes, up and patiently awaiting their morning Bloody Mary. So much for tranquility. We decide to avoid the mosquito bar crawl, and boogie out, sans breakfast. After all, we are on our way out, and I guess I can handle that “good for you” caffeine cleanse.

After 8 miles of 95º sun and seemingly endless vertical fluctuation, we find ourselves only half-way home, hauling over another pass cut with hip-high stone stairs. Sweat-drenched shirts, burning legs and minimal energy, we are dragging on a few nuts, dehydration looming…is it already here? Through the static of my caffeine headache and aching everything, a thought occurs: Is some of this misery self-inflicted? Surely we can do better.

Night one and voted as our campsite of the year!

You can do better:

Trip Specs: 35 miles , 2 nights

Pack weight : Nolan-30lbs , Klare-23lbs , Kailo dog-7lbs.

Hydration:

Hydrate and supplement with electrolytes one week prior. Pack electrolyte tablets and plan to meet proper hydration ratios: around 0.6 L of water per hour mixed with an electrolyte supplement, dosed to package recommendations.

Energy:

Breakfast should include fast-acting carbohydrates for immediate fuel. Be sure to include some fats and protein for sustained energy.

Ex: Rolled oats, nut butter, hemp seeds, dried fruit and cacao nibs for an easy caffeine fix.

*In a perfect wilderness: consume ~40g carb, ~15g protein per hour of intense activity.

Training:

Carrying weight comparable to your backpack, lunge with one leg behind on a small box. Using your back leg, step up onto a tall box with a high knee and flexed foot. Knee should stay in line with your middle toes throughout the lunge, step up and down. 1.5 - 2 minutes on per leg. 20 sec rest.

Medball switch squat:

Start by hugging a 5-10 lb med ball in a kneeling lunge. Keeping the weight in your front foot, come up to your lowest squat. (Upper back straight, chest tall, heels down, drive knees out)

Without standing up, return to kneeling, alternating legs for 30 sec - 1 minute.

Circuit through with other exercises 3 times.

Post trip recovery:

Calf smash (1 min):

Kneeling, take a broomstick and place it behind your knees. Sit back applying extra pressure to the bar with your hands as needed. Roll the bar up and down, side to side. Don’t rush the painful spots, breathe and smile!

Quad stretch: Place one leg flush against a wall with your other knee on the ground. Tuck your hips under until a stretch is felt in your hip flexor or quad. For added intensity, lift your chest or rise to a lunge while maintaining hip positioning.